Driver caught using mannequin in HOV lane

(CNN) -- After pulling over a driver for speeding in an HOV lane near Tacoma, Washington, a state trooper noticed something a little off about the woman in the passenger seat -- she wasn't real.

As the trooper approached the car along Interstate 5, he realized the passenger was actually a mannequin. Though the skin was rubber, the mannequin was almost lifelike, sporting a pink cardigan, scarf and blond wig.

Trooper Todd Bartolac, the information officer for Pierce County, on Friday tweeted a picture of the mannequin: "Violator was ticketed for speed and the HOV violation. On the positive side they were both wearing their seat belts!"

This isn't the first time a mannequin has had a run in with the law. Last December, a police officer in Hudson, New York, smashed open a car window after believing an elderly woman was frozen in the front seat. The owner of the car turned out to be a sales rep for a company that makes medical training devices.

So if you feel the need to travel with a mannequin, maybe it's best to keep it in the trunk.